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26 | DECEMBER 2020 | UTILITY WEEK Customers Talking Points… Ofgem has confirmed that missed Renew- ables Obligation (RO) payments will be mutualised for the third consecutive year, aer a number of suppliers failed to pay in full. The regulator confirmed at the begin- ning of November that "a number" of suppliers had failed to discharge their obli- gation in full by the late payment deadline of 31 October. Further details including the total short- fall, as well as the names of the suppliers who have failed to meet their obligations, are set to be published early in December. Prior to the mutualisation announce- ment, Ofgem revealed that 33 suppliers had not met their total obligations by the deadlines of 31 August for buyout pay- ments and 1 September for Renewables Obligation Certificates. As a result, there was a combined short- fall of more than £105 million in buyout funds at that point. Final orders had already been issued in October to three of these companies over their failure to make a total of £15 million in RO and feed-in tariff payments. The three in question are Robin Hood Energy, Nabuh and Symbio, with the for- mer responsible for £12 million of the total. Robin Hood's owners, Nottingham City Council, sold the supplier's customers to Centrica in September. The government is currently undertaking a rapid non-statu- tory review at the council to look into the "serious governance and risk management issues" associated with Robin Hood. Ofgem said at the time that the other suppliers to have missed their deadlines had provided satisfactory assurances they would be in a position to fulfil their obliga- tions by the late payment deadline. NEWS Energy retail set for third mutualisation Electricity switching In October 621,000 changes of electricity supplier were completed – a four per cent year-on-year rise and up 20 per cent on September. A breakdown of the figures, from the Energy Market Data Hub, shows: • Big six to big six switches - 124,000 – 18 per cent less than October 2019 • Big Six to challenger - 209,000 – 0.2 per cent up year-on-year • Challenger to big six - 95,000 – five per cent down on the same month last year • Challenger to challenger - 193,000 – a 38 per cent rise compared to 2019 R ishi Sunak's U-turn on removing the furlough scheme at the end of October may have provided some buffer against an expected "winter of discontent" but it is clear that many billpayers still face a bleak end to a year most will want to forget. Utilities have so far reported levels of non-payment as manageable but all are on the alert for further fallout from economic uncertainty and the impact of lockdown 2. Data released by Ofgem at the start of this month highlighted the sad but unsurpris- ing fact that it is those customers already struggling to pay their bills who are being hit hardest. The regulator's survey of 1,900 customers in October showed that 20 per cent were wor- ried about not being able to pay their bills because of a drop in income – down slightly from 21 per cent on the picture in May. How- ever, a third of prepayment customers now worry about being able to afford to top up, an increase from 30 per cent in May. As Matthew Cole, chair of the Fuel Bank Foundation, told Utility Week, the furlough extension will do little to help those on zero- hours contracts or who rely on casual over- time. He referred to them as "the forgotten workers, who we see increasingly needing our help and financial assistance". Worryingly, the Ofgem data shows that just one in six prepayment customers is aware of their options if they have trouble topping up their meter. This clearly shows the need for greater communication about the support available and through all means possible. While lockdown has seen an upli in customers using digital channels to contact their utility company, there are still swathes of the population unable to go online. As Utility Week goes press, it is as yet unclear how the latest lockdown will affect the public's ability to pay utility bills. How- ever, it is clear that a late autumn lockdown is likely to have a much greater impact on households' energy usage than it did in the spring. Clearly communicated support will be even more vital. The 'forgotten workers' will not be helped by furlough extension Comment James Wallin, Digital editor